Conveyor system support hanger assembly

ABSTRACT

A screw conveyor to move media includes a first feed screw having a first end portion, a second feed screw having a second end portion, and a support hanger assembly to support the first feed screw and the second feed screw. The support hanger assembly includes a hanger bracket having a vertical support member and an inner hub secured to and extending perpendicularly from the vertical support member, a shaft portion disposed within the inner hub, an inner sleeve configured to be disposed between the shaft portion and the inner hub, at least one outer hub coupled to the shaft portion, and an outer sleeve configured to be disposed between the inner hub and the at least one outer hub. The first feed screw and the second feed screw are coupled to the at least one outer hub. The inner sleeve and/or the outer sleeve may be fabricated from low coefficient of friction material.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This patent application is a Continuation Patent Application of U.S.Ser. No. 13/085,960, entitled “CONVEYOR SYSTEM SUPPORT HANGER ASSEMBLY,”filed on Apr. 13, 2011, which is hereby incorporated herein by referencein its entirety.

BACKGROUND OF THE DISCLOSURE

1. Field of the Disclosure

This disclosure relates generally to the field of media recovery systemsfor surface preparation equipment, such as shot blast equipment, andmore particularly to support hangers for feed screw conveyors used totransport media, such as steel shot, grit, sand, and the like, used insurface preparation equipment.

2. Discussion of Related Art

Media recovery systems are used to return media, such as shot, grit,sand, and the like, to surface preparation equipment, such as shot blastequipment. A typical recovery system includes feed screws or conveyorsthat receive used media to convey the used media back to the surfacepreparation equipment. The feed screw, which is disposed in acylindrical casing or a facet trough made flat at the bottom with angledwalls, may often carry the media a considerable distance. Thus, morethan one feed screw may be needed. Support hanger bearings are oftenused to support sections of the feed screws having long distances oftravel. Since such support hanger bearings are used in extremelyabrasive environments, the support hanger bearing must be able tooperate to ensure the continued rotation of the feed screw. The supporthanger bearings are oftentimes considered to be the weak point of screwconveyor systems since the abrasive media can penetrate bearings used insuch support hangers and compromise the useful life of the bearings.

Several known approaches for supporting feed screws are described in,for example, U.S. Pat. No. 3,934,374, entitled “Sand ReclamationSystem,” U.S. Pat. No. 4,077,508, entitled “Sealed Hanger bearing forUse with Abrasive Conveyors,” U.S. Pat. No. 4,220,242, entitled “ScrewConveyor with Intermediate Bearing,” U.S. Pat. No. 4,424,046, entitled“Flexible Coupling;” U.S. Pat. No. 4,627,885, entitled “Method ofProducing a Compression Loaded Torsional Coupling Device.” U.S. Pat. No.4,645,067, entitled “Screw Conveyor,” U.S. Pat. No. 5,222,591, entitled“Rotary Pipe and Fixed Channel Auger with Intermediate Outer SupportingElements;” and U.S. Pat. No. 6,398,012, entitled “Support and CouplingAssembly for Screw Conveyor.”

SUMMARY OF THE DISCLOSURE

One aspect of the disclosure is directed to a screw conveyor for movinggranular media. In one embodiment, the screw conveyor comprises a firstfeed screw including a first end portion, a second feed screw includinga second end portion, and a support hanger assembly configured tosupport the first feed screw and the second feed screw at the respectivefirst and second end portions of the first feed screw and the secondfeed screw. In a particular embodiment, the support hanger assemblyincludes a hanger bracket having a vertical support member and an innerhub secured to and extending perpendicularly from the vertical supportmember, a shaft portion disposed within the inner hub, an inner sleeveconfigured to be disposed between the shaft portion and the inner hub,at least one outer hub coupled to the shaft portion, and an outer sleeveconfigured to be disposed between the inner hub and the at least oneouter hub. The first feed screw and the second feed screw are coupled tothe at least one outer hub. The inner sleeve and/or the outer sleeve maybe fabricated from low coefficient of friction material.

Embodiments of the screw conveyor may include configuring the at leastone outer hub with a first outer hub and a second outer hub. Each of thefirst and second outer hubs may include a cylindrical portion and anannular end portion secured to an inner surface of the cylindricalportion. The annular end portions of the first and second outer hubsengage opposite ends of the shaft portion. Each end of the shaft portionmay have a slot formed therein. Each of the first and second outer hubsmay include a key configured to be received in the slot and secured tothe respective annular end portion. The outer sleeve may include a firstouter sleeve section configured to be disposed between the inner hub andthe first outer hub and a second outer sleeve section configured to bedisposed between the inner hub and the second outer hub. The inner andouter sleeves may be fabricated from ultra-high molecular weightpolyethylene material. The inner hub may include a first inner hubportion extending from one side of the vertical support member and asecond inner hub portion extending from an opposite side of the verticalsupport member. The first inner hub portion and the second inner hubportion may be aligned with one another to create a continuous innersurface defining an axial bore. The support hanger assembly may beconfigured to drive the rotation of the second feed screw when rotatingthe first feed screw. The screw conveyor may further comprise an upperhub and a lower hub configured to couple one of the first end portion ofthe first feed screw and the second end portion of the second feed screwto the at least one outer hub.

Another aspect of the disclosure is directed to a support hangerassembly configured to support first and second feed screws of a screwconveyor mechanism as described above.

Yet another aspect of the disclosure is directed to a method ofsupporting two feed screws of a screw conveyor mechanism. In oneembodiment, the method comprises: securing a hanger bracket to a supportstructure, the hanger bracket having a vertical support member and aninner hub secured to and extending perpendicularly from the verticalsupport member; securing a first feed screw to a first outer hub;securing a second feed screw to a second outer hub; coupling the firstouter hub and the second outer hub to a shaft portion disposed withinthe inner hub of the hanger bracket; positioning an inner sleevefabricated from low coefficient of friction material between the shaftportion and the inner hub; positioning a first outer sleeve fabricatedfrom low coefficient of friction material between the inner hub and thefirst outer hub; and positioning a second outer sleeve fabricated fromlow coefficient of friction material between the inner hub and thesecond outer hub.

Embodiments of the method may include when coupling the first outer huband the second outer hub section further forming a slot in each end ofthe shaft portion, and for each of the first and second outer hubs,positioning a key in the slot of each end of the shaft and securing thekey to its respective outer hub. At least one of securing the first feedscrew to the first outer hub and securing the second feed screw to thesecond outer hub may include clamping the feed screw to the outer hubwith upper and lower hubs.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The accompanying drawings are not intended to be drawn to scale. In thedrawings, each identical or nearly identical component that isillustrated in various figures is represented by a like numeral. Forpurposes of clarity, not every component may be labeled in everydrawing. In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view of a material recovery system having afeed screw conveyor used to transport material;

FIG. 2 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of a support hanger assemblyused to support two feed screws of an embodiment of the presentdisclosure;

FIG. 3 is a partially exploded, enlarged perspective view of the supporthanger assembly;

FIG. 4 is a partially sectioned, enlarged perspective view of thesupport hanger assembly;

FIG. 5 is an exploded front perspective view of the support hangerassembly;

FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view of the support hanger assembly; and

FIG. 7 is an end view of the support hanger assembly.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

For the purposes of illustration only, and not to limit the generality,the present disclosure will now be described in detail with reference tothe accompanying figures. This disclosure is not limited in itsapplication to the details of construction and the arrangement ofcomponents set forth in the following description or illustrated in thedrawings. The principles set forth in this disclosure are capable ofother embodiments and of being practiced or carried out in various ways.Also the phraseology and terminology used herein is for the purpose ofdescription and should not be regarded as limiting. The use of“including,” “comprising,” “having,” “containing,” “involving,” andvariations thereof herein, is meant to encompass the items listedthereafter and equivalents thereof as well as additional items.

With surface preparation equipment, such as shot blast equipment, one ormore screw conveyors are provided for transporting granular media, suchas steel shot, grit, sand, and the like, to the equipment. One exampleof a screw conveyor includes a cylindrical casing or trough and one ormore feed screws disposed within the casing or trough to transport thegranular media within the casing or trough. The feed screw includes athin plate screw blade that is secured, e.g., by welding, to a rotaryshaft. A drive motor is provided at one end of the rotary shaft to drivethe rotation of the feed screw. An inlet hopper is provided at one endof the screw conveyor into which granular media is supplied. At theother end of the screw conveyor an outlet is provided through which thematerial is discharged.

In applications requiring long screw conveyors, it is necessary tosupport the feed screws at axial positions along the length of the screwconveyor. Support hanger bearing assemblies are provided to supportseparate lengths of feed screws along the length of the screw conveyor.In one embodiment, each support hanger assembly includes a hangerbracket having a vertical support member coupled to the cylindricalcasing or trough and an inner hub secured to and extendingperpendicularly from the vertical support member. The support hangerassembly further includes a shaft portion disposed within the inner huband an inner sleeve disposed between the shaft portion and the innerhub. The support hanger assembly further includes two outer hubs coupledto the shaft portion and two outer sleeves disposed between the innerhub and the respective outer hubs. In a certain embodiment, the innerand outer sleeves are fabricated from low coefficient of frictionmaterial, such as ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene material. Twofeed screws are supported by the support hanger assembly in a mannersuch that a first feed screw is coupled to one of the outer hubs and asecond feed screw is coupled to the other outer hub. The arrangement issuch that the first feed screw, driven by the motor or by anothersimilarly configured feed screw, drives the rotation of the second feedscrew.

In a particular embodiment, in order to secure the outer hubs to theirrespective first and second feed screws, each outer hub includes acylindrical portion and an annular end portion secured to an innersurface of the cylindrical portion. The annular end portions of theouter hubs engage respective opposite ends of the shaft portion. Eachend of the shaft portion has a slot formed therein, which is configuredto receive a key. The key is secured to the respective annular endportion of the outer hub section.

Referring now to the drawings, and more particularly to FIG. 1, there isgenerally indicated at 10 a screw conveyor of an embodiment of thepresent disclosure. As shown, the screw conveyor 10 extends along alongitudinal axis A and includes a cylindrical casing 12 and two feedscrews 14, 16 disposed within the casing and in axial alignment with oneanother to transport the granular media within the casing. In oneembodiment, each feed screw 14, 16 includes a thin plate screw blade 18that is secured, e.g., by welding, to a rotary shaft 20. In a certainembodiment, the rotary shaft 20 is hollow or tubular in construction. Asshown, feed screw 14 includes a left-hand end 26 (as shown in FIG. 1)and a right hand end 28. Similarly, feed screw 16 includes a left-handend 30 and a right hand end 32. For each feed screw 14, 16, the screwblade 18 extends along the entire length of the feed screw. The screwblade 18 is in the form of a helix so that when rotating the rotaryshaft 20 granular material is moved along the length of the screwconveyor by the screw blade in the direction of the helix of the screwblade. With the screw conveyor 10 illustrated in the drawing figures,material is configured to move from left to right. As shown in FIG. 2,an outer edge of the screw blade 18 of each feed screw 14, 16 nearlytouches an inner surface 34 of the casing 12 but is sufficiently spacedapart from one another so as to not interfere with the rotation of thefeed screw. Alternate embodiments may include replacing the casing 12with a trough, such as the facet trough described above.

Provided at one end of the screw conveyor 10, e.g., the left-hand endillustrated in FIG. 1, the left-hand end 26 of the first feed screw 14is supported by a bearing assembly 36, which is secured to an end 38 ofthe casing 12. Similarly, provided at the opposite end of the screwconveyor 10, e.g., the right-hand end illustrated in FIG. 1, theright-hand end 32 of the second feed screw 16 is supported by anotherbearing assembly 40, which is secured to an opposite end 42 of thecasing 12. A drive motor 44, coupled to the bearing assembly 36positioned at the left-hand end 38 of the casing 12, is provided todrive the rotation of the first feed screw 14. An inlet hopper (notshown) may be provided at one end of the screw conveyor into whichgranular media is supplied. At the other end of the screw conveyor 10 oranywhere along the length of the screw conveyor an outlet (not shown)may be provided through which the material is discharged. Although twofeed screws 14, 16 are shown and described throughout the drawingfigures, the screw conveyor 10 of embodiments of the disclosure mayinclude any number of feed screws to convey media through the screwconveyor. It should be understood that the positions of the drive motor44, the inlet hopper and the outlet may be selected based on theparticular environment in which the screw conveyor 10 operates.

As described above, in applications requiring long screw conveyors, itis necessary to support the feed screws at axial positions along thelength of the screw conveyor. Hanger bearing assemblies are provided tosupport separate lengths of feed screws along the length of the screwconveyor. In one embodiment, a hanger bearing assembly, generallyindicated at 50, is provided to support and secure the right-hand end 28of the first feed screw 14 and the left-hand end 30 of the second feedscrew 16. The hanger bearing assembly 50 also enables the first feedscrew 14 to drive the rotation of the second feed screw 16.

Referring to FIGS. 2 and 3, a support bracket 52 is secured to thecasing 12 by suitable fasteners, each indicated at 54. As shown, aportion 56 of the bracket 52 extends into the interior of the casing 12and is configured to support the hanger bearing assembly 50. The supportbracket 52 positions the hanger bearing assembly 50 within the interiorof the casing 12 so that the hanger bearing assembly supports the freeends 28, 30 of the first and second feed screws 14, 16, respectively, sothat the feed screws extend along axis A. The hanger bearing assembly 50is configured so that it can be used to support feed screws 14, 16 asdescribed herein, or may be specifically adapted to support feed screwshaving differing structures. For each feed screw 14, 16, an upper hub 22and a lower hub 24 are provided to secure the feed screw to the hangerbracket 50 in the manner described below.

With reference to FIG. 3, the upper hub 22 includes a semi-cylindricalhub portion 22 a, a blade portion 22 b that extends radially from thehub portion, and flange portions 22 c that extend outwardly from the hubportion on opposite sides of the hub portion. The lower hub 24 includesa semi-cylindrical hub portion 24 a, a blade portion 24 b that extendsradially from the hub portion, and flange portions 24 c that extendoutwardly from the hub portion on opposite sides of the hub portion. Thearrangement is such that the flange portions 22 c, 24 c mate with oneanother in the manner illustrated by broken lines in FIG. 3 and may besecured to one another by one or more fasteners, such as nut-and-boltscrew fasteners. The result is that the upper and lower hubs 22, 24 areclamped onto the rotary shaft 20 of the feed screw (e.g., feed screw 14in FIG. 3) to secure the rotary shaft with respect to the hubs. Therotary shaft 20 may also be welded to the hubs 22, 24. The bladeportions 22 b, 24 b of the respective upper and lower hubs 22, 24 arearranged in a helix around their respective hub portions 22 a, 24 a sothat the blade 18 of the left-hand feed screw 14 continuously extends tothe blade 18 of the right-hand feed screw 16.

Turning to FIGS. 4-6, the hanger bearing assembly 50 includes a hangerbracket, generally indicated at 58, which is configured to be attachedto the support bracket 52. The hanger bracket 58 includes a verticalsupport member 60 that is fabricated from bar stock material, such assteel. As shown, the vertical support member 60 has a plurality ofopenings each indicated at 62 at an upper end 64 of the member 60 tosecure the member to the support bracket 52 with fasteners, such asnut-and-bolt screw fasteners, or the like. The upper end 64 of thevertical support member 60 is rectangular-shaped and a lower end 66 ofthe member 60 is in the shape of a semi-circle.

The hanger bracket 58, at the lower end 66 of the vertical supportmember 60, further includes an inner hub 68, which is secured to andextends perpendicularly from the vertical support member along axis A.In one embodiment, the inner hub 68 is inserted into an opening (notdesignated) formed in the lower end 66 of the vertical support member 60and securely attached to the vertical support member by welding. Theinner hub 68 includes a left-hand portion 70 having an outer surface 72and a right-hand portion 74 also having an outer surface 76. The innerhub 68 further includes a continuous inner surface 78 that defines acylindrical bore. The left hand portion 70 (sometimes referred to as afirst inner hub portion) and the right-hand portion 74 (sometimesreferred to as a second inner hub portion) are aligned with one anotherto create the continuous inner surface 78 defining an axial bore thatextends along axis A. The arrangement is such that the left-hand portion70 extends from one side of the vertical support member 60 and theright-hand portion 74 extends from an opposite side of the verticalsupport member.

The hanger bearing assembly 50 further includes a cylindrical shaftportion 80 that is disposed within the inner hub 68. The shaft portion80 includes a left-hand end 82 and a right hand end 84 as shown in thedrawing figures. The left-hand end 82 of the shaft portion 80 includes avertical slot 86 formed therein. Similarly, the right-hand end 84 of theshaft portion 80 includes a vertical slot 88. It should be understoodthat the slots 86, 88 may be oriented in any desired direction. Thepurpose of the slots 86, 88 at the respective ends 82, 84 of the shaftportion 80 will become apparent as the description of the hanger bearingassembly 50 proceeds.

The hanger bearing assembly 50 further includes two outer hubs,generally indicated at 90, 92 (sometimes referred to as first and secondouter hubs), which are secured to the shaft portion 80 at respectiveopposite ends 82, 84 of the shaft portion and to respective feed screws14, 16 by the upper and lower hubs 22, 24. As best illustrated in FIG.6, the left-hand outer hub 90 includes a cylindrical portion 94 and anannular end portion 96 secured to the cylindrical portion. Similarly,the right-hand outer hub 92 includes a cylindrical portion 98 and anannular end portion 100 secured to the cylindrical portion. Eachcylindrical portion 94, 98 of the left-hand outer hub 90 and theright-hand outer hub 92, respectively, includes an outer surface and aninner surface (both not designated) on which the respective annular endportion 96, 100 is secured at an outer end of the cylindrical portion.Each annular end portion 96, 100 includes a first segment secured to theinner surface of the cylindrical portion and a second segment extendingperpendicularly from the first portion toward the shaft portion. Aninner surface of the second segment is secured to the shaft portion 80,as by welding. Each of the first and second outer hubs 90, 92 includes akey, each indicated at 102, configured to be received in the respectiveslot 86, 88 and secured to the respective annular end portion 96, 100,as by welding as well. For each of the left-hand outer hub 90 and theright-hand outer hub 92, the key 102 secures the outer hub to therespective end 82, 84 of the shaft portion 80.

The left-hand feed screw 14 is secured to the first outer hub 90 of thebearing assembly 50 by clamping the upper and lower hubs 22, 24 aroundthe rotary shaft 20 of the feed screw and the outer surface of the firstouter hub. FIG. 3 illustrates the left-hand upper and lower hubs 22, 24prior to being clamped onto the end of the rotary shaft 20 of the feedscrew 14 and the first outer hub 90 by suitable fasteners. It should benoted that the upper and lower hubs 22, 24 may also be secured to therotary shaft 20 and the first outer hub 90 by welding, either in placeof or in addition to clamping. Similarly, the right-hand feed screw 16is secured to the second outer hub 92 of the bearing assembly 50 byclamping the upper and lower hubs 22, 24 around the rotary shaft of thefeed screw and the outer surface of the second outer hub. Thearrangement is such that the shaft portion 80 and the first and secondouter hubs 90, 92 rotate as one unit with respect to and around theinner hub 68. Specifically, when a rotating force is applied to theleft-hand or first outer hub 90 by the feed screw 14, the rotating forceis applied to the right-hand or second outer hub 92 by the shaft portion80 so that the second outer hub rotates with the first outer hub. Thus,the left-hand feed screw 14 is capable of driving the rotation of theright-hand feed screw 16 when the left-hand feed screw is driven by thedrive motor 44.

To prevent wear between the rotatable first and second outer hubs 90, 92and the shaft portion 80 and the rotatably fixed inner hub 68, an innersleeve 104 is disposed between the shaft portion and the inner hub andtwo outer sleeves 106, 108 (sometimes referred to as the left-hand orfirst outer sleeve 106 and the right-hand or second outer sleeve 108)are disposed between the inner hub and respective first and second outerhubs. The inner sleeve 104 and the first and second outer sleeves 106,108 are loosely toleranced with respect to their respective inner hub68, shaft portion 80 and left-hand and right-hand outer hubs 90, 92, andmay be fabricated from low coefficient of friction material. Forexample, the inner sleeve 104 and the first and second outer sleeves106, 108 may be fabricated from ultra-high molecular weight polyethylenematerial. However, any suitable material may be provided so long as thesleeves 104, 106, 108 are designed to enable the rotation of the firstand second outer hubs 90, 92 and the shaft portion 80 with respect tothe inner hub 68 while enabling a reasonable amount of misalignment andfeed screw wobble. As shown in FIG. 6, a certain amount of misalignmentbetween the left-hand feed screw 14 and the right-hand feed screw 16 isrepresented by axis B.

Turning to FIG. 7, the upper half of the right-hand feed screw 14 isillustrated schematically to show the attachment to the support hangerassembly 50. As shown, the vertical support member 60 of the hangerbracket 58 includes a vibration sensor 110 to measure or otherwiseobtain vibration being absorbed by the support hanger assembly 50. Thevertical support member 60 of the hanger bracket 58 further includes atemperature sensor 112 to measure the temperature of the support hangerassembly 50. The data obtained by the vibration sensor 110 and thetemperature sensor 112 may be transmitted to a controller 114, whichcontrols the operation of the screw conveyor 10 and other components ofthe system. The controller 114 may be directly coupled to the vibrationsensor and the temperature sensor 112, and any other component of thescrew conveyor 10 or communicate with these components through anetwork.

A method for supporting two feed screws of a screw conveyor mechanism isfurther disclosed herein. In one embodiment, the method comprisessecuring a hanger bracket to a support structure. The hanger bracket hasa vertical support member and an inner hub secured to and extendingperpendicularly from the vertical support member. The method furthercomprises securing a first feed screw to a first outer hub and securinga second feed screw to a second outer hub. The first outer hub and thesecond outer hub are coupled to a shaft portion disposed within theinner hub of the hanger bracket. As described herein an inner sleeve ispositioned between the shaft portion and the inner hub. A first outersleeve is positioned between the inner hub and the first outer hub.Similarly, a second outer sleeve is positioned between the inner hub andthe second outer hub. In a certain embodiment, the inner sleeve and thefirst and second outer sleeves are fabricated from low coefficient offriction material, such as ultra-high molecular weight polyethylenematerial. To assist in securing the first and second outer hubs to theshaft portion, the first outer hub and the second outer hub sectionfurther includes forming a slot in each end of the shaft portion.Further, for each of the first and second outer hubs, a key ispositioned in the slot of each end of the shaft and secured to itsrespective outer hub.

Thus, it should be observed that the support hanger assembly ofembodiments of the present disclosure is capable of operating underhigh-stress conditions. The inner sleeve and the outer sleeves providebearing surfaces to enable the free rotation of the first outer hub, theshaft portion and the second outer hub with respect to the inner hub.The tolerances of the inner sleeve and the outer sleeves are relativelyloose to enable the rigid components (e.g., the shaft portion, the innerhub and the outer hubs) to float in between the sleeves. The provisionof the inner sleeve and the outer sleeves enable the left-hand feedscrew to be misaligned with respect to the right-hand feed screw. Sincethe support hanger assembly does not include a bearing the supporthanger assembly can operate even when the inner sleeve and the outersleeves are completely worn. The design of the support hanger assemblyenables on support hanger assembly to be easily interchanged withanother support hanger assembly. In addition, lateral loads are easilytransferred by the shaft portion from the left hand feed screw to theright-hand feed screw.

The component parts of the screw conveyor 10, in some embodiments, arefabricated from sheet metal, such as stainless steel. The components maybe secured to one another by any suitable manner, such as by welding orby use of fasteners.

Having thus described several aspects of at least one embodiment of thisdisclosure, it is to be appreciated various alterations, modifications,and improvements will readily occur to those skilled in the art. Suchalterations, modifications, and improvements are intended to be part ofthis disclosure, and are intended to be within the spirit and scope ofthe disclosure. Accordingly, the foregoing description and drawings areby way of example only.

What is claimed is:
 1. A screw conveyor for moving granular media, thescrew conveyor comprising: a first feed screw including a first endportion; a second feed screw including a second end portion; a supporthanger assembly configured to support the first feed screw and thesecond feed screw at the respective first and second end portions of thefirst feed screw and the second feed screw, the support hanger assemblyincluding a hanger bracket having a vertical support member and an innerhub secured to and extending perpendicularly from the vertical supportmember, a shaft portion disposed within the inner hub, an inner sleevefabricated from low coefficient of friction material, the inner sleevebeing configured to be disposed between the shaft portion and the innerhub, and an outer hub assembly coupled to the shaft portion, wherein thefirst feed screw and the second feed screw are coupled to the outer hubassembly; and an upper hub and a lower hub configured to couple one ofthe first end portion of the first feed screw and the second end portionof the second feed screw to the outer hub assembly.
 2. The screwconveyor of claim 1, wherein the outer hub assembly includes a firstouter hub and a second outer hub.
 3. The screw conveyor of claim 2,wherein each of the first and second outer hubs includes an outer sleevefabricated from low coefficient of friction material, the outer sleevebeing configured to be disposed between the inner hub and the outer hub.4. The screw conveyor of claim 3, wherein each of the first and secondouter hubs further includes a cylindrical portion and an annular endportion secured to an inner surface of the cylindrical portion, theannular end portions of the first and second outer hubs engagingopposite ends of the shaft portion.
 5. The screw conveyor of claim 4,wherein each end of the shaft portion has a slot formed therein, andwherein each of the first and second outer hubs includes a keyconfigured to be received in the slot and secured to the respectiveannular end portion.
 6. The screw conveyor of claim 3, wherein the outersleeve includes a first outer sleeve section configured to be disposedbetween the inner hub and the first outer hub and a second outer sleevesection configured to be disposed between the inner hub and the secondouter hub.
 7. The screw conveyor of claim 3, wherein the inner and outersleeves are fabricated from ultra-high molecular weight polyethylenematerial.
 8. The screw conveyor of claim 1, wherein the inner hubincludes a first inner hub portion extending from one side of thevertical support member and a second inner hub portion extending from anopposite side of the vertical support member, and wherein the firstinner hub portion and the second inner hub portion are aligned with oneanother to create a continuous inner surface defining an axial bore. 9.A support hanger assembly configured to support first and second feedscrews of a screw conveyor mechanism, the support hanger assemblycomprising: a hanger bracket having a vertical support member and aninner hub secured to and extending perpendicularly from the verticalsupport member; a shaft portion disposed within the inner hub; an innersleeve fabricated from low coefficient of friction material, the innersleeve being configured to be disposed between the shaft portion and theinner hub; an outer hub assembly coupled to the shaft portion, whereinthe outer hub assembly is configured to be secured to the first feedscrew and the second feed screw of the screw conveyor mechanism; and anupper hub and a lower hub configured to couple one of the first endportion of the first feed screw and the second end portion of the secondfeed screw to the outer hub assembly.
 10. The support hanger assembly ofclaim 9, wherein the outer hub assembly includes a first outer hub and asecond outer hub.
 11. The support hanger assembly of claim 10, whereineach of the first and second outer hubs includes an outer sleevefabricated from low coefficient of friction material, the outer sleevebeing configured to be disposed between the inner hub and the outer hub.12. The support hanger assembly of claim 11, wherein each of the firstand second outer hubs further includes a cylindrical portion and anannular end portion secured to an inner surface of the cylindricalportion, the annular end portions of the first and second outer hubsengaging opposite ends of the shaft portion.
 13. The support hangerassembly of claim 12, wherein each end of the shaft portion has a slotformed therein, and wherein each of the first and second outer hubsincludes a key configured to be received in the slot and secured to therespective annular end portion.
 14. The support hanger assembly of claim11, wherein the outer sleeve includes a first outer sleeve sectionconfigured to be disposed between the inner hub and the first outer huband a second outer sleeve section configured to be disposed between theinner hub and the second outer hub.
 15. The support hanger assembly ofclaim 11, wherein the inner and outer sleeves are fabricated fromultra-high molecular weight polyethylene material.
 16. The supporthanger assembly of claim 9, wherein the inner hub includes a first innerhub portion extending from one side of the vertical support member and asecond inner hub portion extending from an opposite side of the verticalsupport member, and wherein the first inner hub portion and the secondinner hub portion are aligned with one another to create a continuousinner surface defining an axial bore.
 17. A method of supporting twofeed screws of a screw conveyor mechanism, the method comprising:securing a hanger bracket to a support structure, the hanger brackethaving a vertical support member and an inner hub secured to andextending perpendicularly from the vertical support member; securing afirst feed screw to a first outer hub; securing a second feed screw to asecond outer hub; coupling the first outer hub and the second outer hubto a shaft portion disposed within the inner hub of the hanger bracket;positioning an inner sleeve fabricated from low coefficient of frictionmaterial between the shaft portion and the inner hub; and securing anupper hub and a lower hub to the shaft portion.
 18. The method of claim17, further comprising positioning a first outer sleeve fabricated fromlow coefficient of friction material between the inner hub and the firstouter hub, and positioning a second outer sleeve fabricated from lowcoefficient of friction material between the inner hub and the secondouter hub.
 19. The method of claim 17, wherein coupling the first outerhub and the second outer hub section further includes forming a slot ineach end of the shaft portion, and for each of the first and secondouter hubs, positioning a key in the slot of each end of the shaft andsecuring the key to its respective outer hub.